‘Can’t wait on India to resolve Teesta issue,’ says foreign minister

Bangladesh’s government does not want to wait for a water-sharing agreement with India on what it calls a matter of “life and death” for people living along the Teesta River, says Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman. Instead, it is interested in discussing development projects in the region with China.

Ahead of an official visit to China, Khalilur told the media on Tuesday that Bangladesh’s Teesta project would “definitely” be discussed during his official trip,

When asked whether Dhaka still had hopes for the long-stalled Teesta water-sharing agreement—especially after the BJP came to power in West Bengal, possible removing the earlier obstacle posed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee—Khalilur said Bangladesh would not sit idle while waiting for India to act.

He said, “Look, a government has not yet been formed in West Bengal, and what they think or what they will do is for them to say. It is not my job to read their minds.”

“We hope that the agreement reached at that time can be ‘considered’ again under the current circumstances. But we cannot just sit and wait for that. We have our own work to do.”

In September 2011, ahead of then Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Dhaka, ministers responsible for water resources from both countries had reached consensus on the Teesta water-sharing agreement.

The long-awaited deal was expected to be signed during Singh’s visit, but it was blocked by opposition from then West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

After Narendra Modi’s BJP government came to power in India, there were renewed hopes regarding the Teesta agreement, but Mamata’s position did not change.

With the water-sharing deal stalled, Bangladesh initiated the “Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project.”

During former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to Beijing in July 2019, media reports said she sought Chinese assistance for it and several other projects.

According to a BBC report at the time, the project would include riverbank management infrastructure, flood control measures, and facilities to address dry-season water shortages.

Amid India reportedly expressing concern over awarding the project to a Chinese company, Beijing submitted a formal proposal worth nearly $1 billion.

In May 2024, during a visit to Dhaka, then Indian foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra expressed India’s interest in financing the Teesta project. The following month, during Hasina’s visit to India, New Delhi again showed interest in joining the Teesta master plan.

As part of that initiative, Prime Minister Modi said a technical team from India would soon visit Bangladesh.

About a month later, on Aug 5, Hasina’s government fell amid a student-led mass uprising in Dhaka, and she fled to India.

Since then, large-scale protests have been held in northern Bangladesh demanding implementation of the Teesta master plan. The BNP, which played a leading role in that movement, is now in power, and one of the movement’s leaders, Asadul Habib Dulu, serves as minister for disaster management.

With both the Teesta water-sharing agreement and the development project still unresolved, Foreign Minister Khalilur began a three-day visit to Beijing on Tuesday. In addition to bilateral talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, he is also scheduled to meet Wang Huning, chairman of China’s Political Consultative Conference.

Asked about the purpose of the trip and the Teesta project, Rahman said: “China is a very important friend of ours, with whom we have a Strategic Cooperative Partnership. This is the new government’s first visit to China.”

“The Chinese foreign minister invited me, and during this trip we will discuss in detail how to deepen, accelerate, and broaden relations between our two countries.”

He added, “We are already engaged in extensive cooperative projects and activities with China in many sectors. We will discuss whether this relationship can be taken beyond a strategic partnership. They are also interested.”

“You mentioned Teesta… of course Teesta will be discussed, absolutely. This is a matter of life and death for the people of that region. They have raised the call, ‘Jago Bahe’ (Rise up, brother). If we do not respond to that call, then why are we here?

He said, “This is a commitment of our honourable prime minister and of our government—to solve the problems of that region. We will fulfill that commitment, and we will certainly discuss it during the China visit.”

Asked whether China’s project proposal and the India water-sharing agreement should be treated as separate issues, Rahman said: “The biggest issue is that the people living along the Teesta are facing a major ecological disaster. It is also a matter of their economic security.”

“We will explore every option available to us. Whichever is best, that is what we will choose. The main consideration here is the interest of our people—Bangladesh First.”

Responding to a question about fears of forced push-ins from India, in light of anti-Bangladeshi remarks made by likely future West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, Rahman said: “When the chief minister of Assam said similar things and admitted he had taken certain actions, you saw that we strongly protested. We will take whatever measures are necessary on that issue.”